JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) — Balancing development and existing infrastructure is an issue Charleston County and city leaders are facing.
Ask any John's Island residents their main complaint and they will likely tell you traffic.
Charleston city councilman for District 3, Jim McBride, is brainstorming ways to alleviate the stop-and-go drive on and off the island.
On Maybank Highway, two lanes are coming onto Johns Island and only one going off towards James Island.
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Councilman McBride said it's a bottleneck and taxpayers are sitting in traffic, wasting time and money.
There are three projects in the works.
McBride said the first project that will alleviate this problem is the Northern Pitchfork, which is expected to be finished in March.
It will allow motorists to take a right coming onto the island at the fairly new stoplight near Fenwick Hall Allee and take them to River Road, meaning no one has to sit on Maybank.
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The second project is restriping Maybank Highway near the intersection of River Road.
Right now, there are short turn lanes and McBride said cars get backed up, slowing traffic coming onto the island.
He said after the striping, there will be a left turn lane only. The middle lane will be three lanes and a new right turn lane will be added.
The third planned project is the nearly $30 million Southern Pitchfork, creating a possible left turn when you come onto Johns Island.
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The traffic light for the Northern Pitchfork would potentially be moved and realigned with the entrance to the Southern Pitchfork closer to the bridge.
"If that gets funded, and if that happens, the estimated completion time would be somewhere somewhere around 2028," McBride said. "I don't want to wait for four years and no one on the island wants to wait for four years. So, we're trying to come up with some ideas to improve things before that."
McBride said these projects will allow traffic to flow better coming onto the island, but there is nothing funded now to help people get off the island.
"Every single morning taxpayers are sitting in traffic wasting money wasting time," McBride said. "And it's a problem that needs to get fixed."
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One idea McBride is researching is reversible lanes.
With reversible lanes, the middle lane would switch directions in the evening, potentially alleviating traffic.
"In the morning you have two lanes going off the island, and then in the evening, you'd have two lanes coming on the island," McBride said.
McBride said it would require large signaling and possibly entry gates to make it very clear which direction people would drive.
"In 2019, the county did a study on this idea, and they determined that it would improve traffic going off the island in the morning by 66%. That's a huge improvement," McBride said.
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McBride said the county recommended they could not do reversible lanes because currently there are too many stop lights too close together.
He said if the Northern Pitchfork is realigned with the future Southern Pitchfork, there would be one intersection closer to the bridge which would create a more continuous stretch of road, potentially allowing this idea to work.
McBride said the reversible lane idea would cost about $5 million.
"In comparison, the Southern Pitchfork is estimated to be about $30 million. So, $5 million is a lot of money, but it will save taxpayers so much money over time and save time. Instead of sitting in traffic you know, wasting time and gas money," McBride said.
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This is just one idea McBride is researching.
He said he is working alongside Mayor William Cogswell, city staff, and county council members Jenny Honeycutt and Joe Boykin to find a solution for Johns Island traffic.
River Road and Maybank Highway are state-owned, meaning they are managed and funded by the county.
McBride said this requires collaboration between the city and county.
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This November, the county will vote on a 2024 Half Cent Sales Tax Referendum to potentially replace an old sales tax set to expire in the next 2 years.
McBride said it would raise an estimated $5.4 billion.
He said $2 billion would help fund the Mark Clark Expressway, and the other $3.4 billion would help fund the County Infrastructure Improvement Projects.